There is currently an apparent controversy over the production of a smartphone and tablet in Africa. This is apparently due to the fact that Africans have begun to develop a liking for products made in the continent rather than elsewhere. Thus, it appears that companies are scrambling to claim that their products are made in Africa in order to gain authenticity. It is for this reason that a smartphone and tablet apparently "designed and engineered" in the Congo but "manufactured in China" is being pushed as an authentic African product that responds to the needs of Africans. The entrepreneur responsible for the development of the product even insisted that "Only Africans can know what Africa needs."
The story of the development of these products is just a technological version of a cultural story which Africans have been told for much of the recent history of the continent. This is clear when the company responsible for the development of the products responded to challenges to its African authenticity by saying that those who are mounting such challenges could be Afro-pessimists who hold that nothing good could come out of Africa. All of this begs the question of what an authentic African product should be or whether we can even talk of an authentically African product?
First, is there such a thing as an authentically African product? If there is to be such a thing, it should simply be a product that is invented and made in its entirety by Africans and in Africa, period. While the intrepeneur responsible for the development of the smartphone and tablet in the Congo must be greatly praised for his efforts, going by the definition of African authenticity above, his product is not authentically African. In fact, it is not clear to me why the product should specifically be associated with Africa apart from the fact that part of it was done in Africa. Whenever we say that a product is an African product, we should clearly define what we mean.
Second, should we talk of an African product? Well, like the language of cultural authenticity, the language of African product is motivated by the politics of cultural difference and marketing. The distinctiveness of the African is often seen as a plus in African cultural politics. This distinctiveness, taken to its extreme, has led the developer of this smartphone and tablet to make the erroneous claim that only Africans know what Africans need. This is a baffling claim because the smartphone and the tablet were not made for Africans. In fact, many of the products which Africans now use were not made specifically for Africans. The telephone itself is a good example. It is therefore possible that non-Africans can know what Africans need, especially given the fact that Africans are now falling in a big way for the smartphone and the tablet.
Still, the question remains - should we talk of an African product? It is not clear to me whether we should or not. I can only say that Africans should not be making only African products - whatever that means. The technology developed in Africa should be universally valid technology. This means that African technology should not only respond to the needs of Africans. Any technology that is designed to respond to the needs of Africans should also be able to respond to the needs of people in other places around the world. Africans are not special - they are not better or worse than any other people around the world. Even though a particular technology may be invented and manufactured in Africa and for Africans, it should also have universal appeal. The product should be marketed around the world as simply a good product rather than as an African product. Samsung products, for example, are not sold around the world as Japanese products; they are simply sold as good products that people need. That is the direction African inventors, engineers, and entrepreneurs should be taking. We should stop fighting over African authenticity; that is a politics that limits our imagination. Let's just make good products rather than "African" products.
The story of the development of these products is just a technological version of a cultural story which Africans have been told for much of the recent history of the continent. This is clear when the company responsible for the development of the products responded to challenges to its African authenticity by saying that those who are mounting such challenges could be Afro-pessimists who hold that nothing good could come out of Africa. All of this begs the question of what an authentic African product should be or whether we can even talk of an authentically African product?
First, is there such a thing as an authentically African product? If there is to be such a thing, it should simply be a product that is invented and made in its entirety by Africans and in Africa, period. While the intrepeneur responsible for the development of the smartphone and tablet in the Congo must be greatly praised for his efforts, going by the definition of African authenticity above, his product is not authentically African. In fact, it is not clear to me why the product should specifically be associated with Africa apart from the fact that part of it was done in Africa. Whenever we say that a product is an African product, we should clearly define what we mean.
Second, should we talk of an African product? Well, like the language of cultural authenticity, the language of African product is motivated by the politics of cultural difference and marketing. The distinctiveness of the African is often seen as a plus in African cultural politics. This distinctiveness, taken to its extreme, has led the developer of this smartphone and tablet to make the erroneous claim that only Africans know what Africans need. This is a baffling claim because the smartphone and the tablet were not made for Africans. In fact, many of the products which Africans now use were not made specifically for Africans. The telephone itself is a good example. It is therefore possible that non-Africans can know what Africans need, especially given the fact that Africans are now falling in a big way for the smartphone and the tablet.
Still, the question remains - should we talk of an African product? It is not clear to me whether we should or not. I can only say that Africans should not be making only African products - whatever that means. The technology developed in Africa should be universally valid technology. This means that African technology should not only respond to the needs of Africans. Any technology that is designed to respond to the needs of Africans should also be able to respond to the needs of people in other places around the world. Africans are not special - they are not better or worse than any other people around the world. Even though a particular technology may be invented and manufactured in Africa and for Africans, it should also have universal appeal. The product should be marketed around the world as simply a good product rather than as an African product. Samsung products, for example, are not sold around the world as Japanese products; they are simply sold as good products that people need. That is the direction African inventors, engineers, and entrepreneurs should be taking. We should stop fighting over African authenticity; that is a politics that limits our imagination. Let's just make good products rather than "African" products.
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